Red
by SeductivelyDeductive13
Summary: ...and the last coherent thought he had was of the color red. NOT a deathfic.
1. Flames are Red

**Hey you guys! I know I haven't posted in a while. A lot of stuff has been going and with it being my Junior year of high school I have wayyy too much to do and wayyy too little time to do it. So please bear with me. I WILL publish the next and final chapter TOMORROW. If I do not and am, in fact, lying to you all right now I would like to give you permission to destroy my Avatar: The Last Airbender DVD collection. Thank you all. (:  
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><p>"Shit!" Tony shouted.<p>

The car bomb had reached the 60 second mark.

He'd had a hunch that the kid they were looking for was around the area. Unfortunately…he was right. _Dammit- the one time I'm right is the only time I wouldn't want to be_, Tony reasoned. The thoughts tumbled through his head at top speed, rolling and speeding past each other in his mind as he used his body as a human battering ram. _I couldn't be holding a lottery ticket could I? _His brain spat.

Tony was hardly aware of his thoughts. Sarcasm was always his way out. It was second nature. Too bad Brian had no way out.

The desperate face behind the bulletproof glass was terrible. Tony backed up and once again pummeled the windshield with all of his strength in an attempt to shatter the seemingly unbreakable barrier between him and the boy. The bright red sedan was the only vehicle in the parking lot. The little boy, Brian, in the front seat was trying desperately to roll down his window, but with no keys in the ignition it was useless. And they were both running out of time.

The gap in the window was only about 5 inches. Sweat ran down Tony's forehead and he could feel the cool rivulets traveling down his brow.

30 seconds.

He wiped the sweat away as he rushed to the driver's side where the door was welded shut. Dammit- he knew- he knew it wasn't enough. Damn, his team should have fucking listened to him!

"Brian!" He barked. The authority in his voice seemed to calm the boy down just long enough to stop him from obsessively pressing the button above the door handle. The terrified 9 year-old's attention was immediately attracted to Tony. His panicked eyes met the guarded eyes of the NCIS Agent.

"Brian-,"He swallowed. He didn't want to think about what he was about to do. He couldn't afford to think. "Brian, I'm gonna hafta hurt you to get you out okay buddy?" Tony said hurriedly, gesturing frantically with his hands.

17 seconds.

Brian barely hesitated.

Trust washed over the panic in a strange blend on the boy's face and he nodded frantically. Tony wasted no time reaching inside the car window and he decked the poor kid hard enough to knock him out. Even through the duct tape DiNozzo could hear the little boy scream in fear and felt his attempt to jerk away from the agent seconds before his fist made contact. Tony held fast and pressed his lips together. Brian passed out from the pain almost instantly.

Without wasting time Tony hauled Brian up by the armpits, gritting his teeth as the window's hard edge bit into his forearms and quickly, in a clumsy, panicked frenzy, forced the small boy's form out the window. There was no room to be gentle. Tony noticed the clock from the corner of his vision.

7 seconds.

Brian's arm was stuck. He glanced back at the clock -6 seconds. Tony closed his eyes and tried not to think about it. He still winced when Brian's left arm snapped. The grating, popping noise resounded in the quiet of the lot as Tony's legs bounded across pavement as fast as they would go, Brian hanging in his arms.

He was almost a yard from the car when the world exploded. Tony wrapped his body around Brian's, hugging him protectively as the blood red flames plumed around him and a solid wall of air knocked the breath out of his lungs and tossed him violently through the air. He couldn't tell how he reached the ground so fast.

He hit the pavement on his back.

Tony's head snapped back and hit the concrete. The last coherent thought he had was of the color red.


	2. Blood is Crimson

**Hey you guys! **

**I have a confession! First off...I LIED. **

**There, I said it. And not just once, but a couple times. I'm on a lying _roll_ in fact. ;P I did NOT publish this story's second chapter the day after like I promised and I do NOT, in fact, have a DVD collection of Avatar: The Last Airbender (as much as I wish I did all I have is Netflix *sighs*). So any threats you could have made, dear readers, would be invalid. Hahaha. And I lied AGAIN when I said that this would be the last chapter. Because it's not. It is NOT the last chapter. **

**God I'm terrible. (;**

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><p>Team Gibbs was headed for the parking lot Tony had so irritatingly insisted upon investigating, even if it meant going himself apparently. He'd left in the middle of their search of the suspect's house and Gibbs was pissed. They were half way across the large field separating the suburban area from the lot. They were close enough to see the grimy details of the obviously decrepit building. It was a vast desert of black top with the desolate warehouse squatting next to it.<p>

There was only one car in the parking lot.

Gibbs' heart beat a little faster. That wasn't Tony's car.

He noticed Ziva and McGee share an uncertain look and pick up the pace. A proud smile wormed its way onto Gibbs' face, that was good detective work for them to pick that up as quickly as they had. Then the worry washed over him and the calm, cool marine face replaced the grin. Tony could have been right and if he was right….

Gibbs' head snapped up and he stopped in his tracks as the vehicle exploded in a massive collection of shrapnel, smoke and furious red flames. Ziva and Tim were frozen, wide-eyed and staring at the sight before them. Tim's jaw was hang open in shock. The force of the explosion was so much that a blast of hot air whipped the silver hair from Gibbs' face. That was when Gibbs realized that he should move. He should be racing to the scene and suddenly he was. His feet pounding on the soft earth and shoving the tall blades of grass from his path.

Ziva and McGee snapped to attention and followed his lead, the tall grass whipping around their thighs and they created a trail through the brush. McGee and Ziva shouted for Tony, but as his arms pumped beside him Gibbs' gut told him Tony wouldn't be answering.

He covered distance fast. Panting and short of breath Gibbs broke through the jungle of weeds and his boots slapped solid ground. He didn't break stride, running straight for the opposite side of the wreckage. As he flew through the black smoke to re-emerge on the other side Gibbs saw him.

A small figure was crouched over a motionless form on the ground. It was the missing child, Brian, shaking violently; his one arm hung limply at his side and appeared to be bent at an odd angle. He was hovering over Gibbs' senior agent, screaming at the other to wake up through broken sobs.

Gibbs had stopped, apprehension almost overwhelming the older agent. McGee's footsteps came up behind him and woke the team leader from his trance. He took off at a dead sprint and sank to his hands and knees beside his agent, hands delicately running over his body as Ziva's strong , but gentle arms carefully removed the little boy from the situation, assuring Brian that Tony would be fine. The look in her eyes told a different story, but the boy's attention was focused on the broken man lying on the ground not the Isreali woman.

Gibbs gently picked Tony off the ground and lifted his head onto his lap, moving him as little as possible. A soft sigh escaped the younger man's lips and Gibbs' heart skipped a beat. His eyes fluttered open.

"Gibbzzz…?" A worried smile spread across his boss's face, but the relief was short-lived. Tony began to cough, deep, wet coughs that made chills go down Gibbs' back.

"Where's that damn ambulance?" He shouted. McGee was staring, frozen at his fallen senior agent in horror. Gibbs barked at him and repeated the question.

"Uh, th-they might've g-gotten l-l-lost, Boss." He replied, the stutter creeping into his voice.

"Are you fuckin' kidding me McGee? There's a car. ON FIRE _behind_ us!" As the probationary agent stuttered a broken apology Gibbs propped his senior field agent up a bit to allow more air into his lungs, but drew his hand back in horror when a hot and sticky sensation reached his fingers.

Blood... A lot of it.

" 'm's—sorry." Tony slurred, eyes beginning to close.

Panic jumped into Gibbs' throat. "

Hey! DiNozzo! Get with the program! What're you sorry for? Tell me what you're sorry for, I wanna know."

The demanding tone in his voice begged no argument and he hoped Tony would respond to that as he always did. The usual action from his boss would be a clipped smack to the back of his agent's head, but that was so obviously out of the question Gibbs almost didn't know what to do. However, he wasn't disappointed. Tony struggled to take a deep breath, smiling painfully through cracked lips, he replied, "S-sorry Boss… can't obey tha' one."

Tony's voice was little more than a whisper, fading out as the sirens could be heard rushing through the neighborhood. Tony's smile vanished and a haunted look entered his eyes, "J-Jusss' ….like m'father…. boss…" .

Gibbs' eyes widened. Why would Tony -? The younger man was starting to relax. Just a little _too_ much. Gibbs shook him.

"DiNozzo!" He shouted. McGee looked over fearfully.

"DiNozzo, come on, look at me!" He demanded. His boss reached to lift his chin, but realized that he shouldn't move Tony anymore than he already had with a serious head injury.

"Tony! You are _nothing_ like your father! Ya hear me?" There was no response. The ambulances were pulling up to the curb as the doctors rushed out with a gurney and collectively began hauling ass for the flaming car. Tony's pulse was fading rapidly beneath Gibbs' crimson-stained fingers and by the time the paramedics arrived his agent had stopped breathing altogether.

The absence of DiNozzo's labored breathing only amplified the sound of the blazing red sirens from the ambulance in the distance.

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><p><strong>Yeah, so again, NOT the last chapter. SHOUT OUT TO <span>PUFFDADDER<span> FOR ACTUALLY READING THE AUTHOR'S NOTE LAST CHAPTER! (: It was nice to have a conversation with him about his theivery of my non-existent DVD collection. ;P Thanks guys.  
>MAX.<strong>


	3. Signatures Are For Celebrities

**Okay guys, this is it! (: Sorry, been a little pre-occupied. Apparently I won a nationwide 20,000+ poetry competition and now my work is published...in a book somewhere...and I don't even remember what poem I sent them so I've been trying to figure that out. **

**You have my best friend to thank for telling me to get off my ass and write something. :P**

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><p>Tony was scooping a handful of aspirin into his face to relieve the incessant pounding that was still present courtesy of a skull fracture.<p>

He almost choked when his boss announced his presence with a rough cough directly behind him. Tony jumped, scooting his chair back a fraction and blinked owlishly at his employer as if he were sporting a second head. It wasn't uncommon for Gibbs to teleport, but Tony was still a little slow from….He really didn't want to think about that.

Brian had a concussion from the landing, a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. He'd also bitten his tongue pretty hard when Tony had…._God! Why couldn't he get the fuckin' image out of his mind?_ Then he forced himself to snap back to reality and whined, "Boooooossss!"

Ziva and McGee glanced up in a mixture of shock and their typical amusement. Gibbs grinned broadly at this display from his team, coffee dangling from his thumb and forefinger absently as he thought about his agent's behavior.

Tony was joking again, that was a start. The younger man had barely said a word the following two weeks after the incident and he hadn't made one joke or pulled a single prank. He could read the worry on Ziva and Tim's faces, but refused to acknowledge it in case they asked him what was bothering their friend. Gibbs had finally had enough about 4 days ago.

Since the car bombing it was like Tony had been replaced with a different person. A quiet, deeply upset man who remained passive and oblivious to his surroundings- _depressed_ even for the entirety of two weeks. The other two sane members of his team had seemed to assume that Tony was simply shaken up over it all or even angry with them. After all, this entire situation could have been easily avoided if they'd only listened to his judgement. Instead, Gibbs had barked at him and treated Tony like a probie. If it had been up to the rest of the team Brian would have died.

Gibbs, however, saw exactly what was troubling his agent. It had taken some thinking on the older man's part, but he'd figured it out after the words his partner had said to him at the scene. The tortured look in his eyes….He'd broken Brian's arm to save the kid's life. Brian would have died in a blast of heat and shrapnel if he hadn't been able to pry him from the doomed car, but knowing Tony, the agent didn't see it that way.

He'd _intentionally_ harmed a child.

"Just like my father." He'd said.

Gibbs sighed imperceptibly as he stared at DiNozzo's back. Tony was trying so hard to pretend he was 'fine'. Gibbs saw the bags under his eyes, the hurt and torn expression on his face 24/7. It was clear that Tony hadn't been sleeping lately and from the look of the empty trash can and the lack of complaints about stolen food- he hadn't eaten either.

Even just now, Tony was forcing a grin on his face for _their_ benefit. If the man tried any harder his face would crack.

_Fine my ass,_ Gibbs thought.

He'd been doing plenty of thinking. Plenty. He swapped hands with his nearly empty coffee cup as he straightened and checked his watch. Dropping the grin from his face and replacing it with a serious expression he began marching around DiNozzo's desk, headed towards his own.

"DiNozzo!" He barked. Tony jumped again, this time it was like electricity had shocked him. His mind had obviously been somewhere else and Tony's head jerked in every direction wildly as if he was unsure where he was. Concern raced through Gibbs before he spoke again, more gently this time.

"Someone's here to see you."

He watched Tony's eyebrow raise suspiciously, but before Gibbs could be interrogated the elevator intruded into the one-sided conversation with a high-pitched _'ding_' that resounded through the lobby. Gibbs mentally patted himself on the back at his perfect timing.

All three members of his team swung their heads in the direction of the noise. Gibbs allowed a miniscule smile to creep back onto his features.

Tony was staring at the small figure rapidly approaching his desk as though he'd been struck across the face.

McGee's eyes were wide in surprise and Ziva had to lean around her desk to catch sight of the little boy and his mother emerging from the silver doors. Brian looked a little worse for wear, but healthy and alive.

He broke free of his mother's grasp as soon as he glimpsed Tony and flew across the bullpen towards the SFA, who still sat, stunned in his seat with a haunted, guilty look on his face. So many emotions were wrestling inside his agent and Gibbs read the urge to run and hide before it was hidden by a wall- the wall DiNozzo always put up when he could sense his own fragility.

Brian ran straight up to Agent Tony DiNozzo and around his desk to beam up at him from the ground. Tony had swiveled in his seat to observe the sturdy little man in front of him. His eyes, Gibbs noticed, were drawn to the shiny red cast fixed to Brian's left arm. It was dead silent for a couple of moments save for the sound of typing and copy machines in the office area.

The child's mother stood off to one side of the bullpen, a bit awkwardly, gratitude shining in her gaze. Tony's fingers were tangled with each other in a nervous knot with his other hand was still clinging to his desk as if to ground him.

Ziva and Tim, either curious or tense didn't make a sound.

Just as Gibbs' gut was beginning to scream that this was a horrible idea the kid suddenly reached into his pant's pockets, still smiling broadly and withdrew a brand new black sharpie. He thrust it at Tony in his clenched fist.

"Sign it." He demanded.

His tone explained that there was no room for argument. Tony, obviously frozen in shock looked at the sharpie in the boy's hand and then at the boy himself, his brow wrinkled in confusion. The boy impatiently waved the marker in front of Tony hero and suddenly the agent's face broke into a small smile, shoulders and back sagging a little from the tension that seemed to suddenly leave him.

Tony reached out for the marker and gently removed it from the boy's grasp.

Brian bounced on his toes. "I haven't let _anyone_ else sign it yet! I wanted to make _sure_ you were first!" He bragged.

Tony uncapped the marker and grinned. "Oh really?" He said, waggling his eyebrows mischievously.

"Yup, I wanted you to be first!" Brian repeated, nodding his head once.

Tony scooted the chair closer to Brian and leaned over the cast before slowly sitting upright again and looking around. His eyes suddenly lit up with the spark they'd been missing for the past couple of weeks and he bent over the obnoxiously red protective material and scrawling something on it in big black letters.

Gibbs caught sight of Brian's mother smiling softly and begin to make her way toward Tony.

"There you go, kid." Tony said softly. Brian's smile lit up his entire face and Tony couldn't help but return it as he relinquished the sharpie to its rightful owner.

"Thanks!" Brian hadn't even read the words on his cast, but his mother, who had just appeared behind her son spoke them out loud, "You are invincible~ Signed: Agent Tony DiNozzo."

The agent tensed and Gibbs could see the guilt creep up and grip his agent once again as he stared, lost, at the woman in front of him.

" I had to find the right words." He managed.

Her watery gaze met his. "Thank you." She said.

Taking her son's hand Mrs. Detweiler began to lead Brian away, but the little boy wrenched his hand free once again and raced back to Tony, wrapping his good arm around the agent's leg. Startled, Tony stopped, hands in the air and then relaxed as well, returning the embrace and his sanity with it.

Brian and his mother left the same way they came in, by using the elevator. Brian's red cast waving at them and one agent in particular as he made his exit.

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><p><strong>Ta-Duhr. (:<strong>


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